Merz condemns Schroeder’s attendance at Putin’s birthday celebration

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder’s attendance at Russian President Vladimir Putin’s birthday celebration “deeply outrageous,” a government spokesperson said. The visit also drew criticism within Schroeder’s Social Democratic Party.

A government spokesperson said Merz considered Schroeder’s visit to Putin’s home “downright immoral.” The spokesperson said the Russian president was responsible for the war in Ukraine and the resulting suffering, civilian deaths and injuries.

Schroeder served as Germany’s chancellor from 1998 to 2005. His ties to Russian business and Putin have long drawn criticism in Germany and abroad. Schroeder and his wife, So-Yeon Schroeder-Kim, did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

SPD co-leader Lars Klingbeil, who is also finance minister in Merz’s coalition government, called the visit “completely unacceptable,” according to Sueddeutsche Zeitung. Criticism therefore came from within Schroeder’s own party as well.

After leaving office, Schroeder chaired the shareholders’ committee of Nord Stream, a pipeline project he had championed while in government. He later held senior posts at Rosneft. Earlier this year, Putin proposed him as a possible interlocutor for talks on new European security arrangements, an idea rejected by the European Union and the German government.

Last week, Schroeder joined the supervisory board of Hyperglobus, a Russian retailer that split from Globus Holding. The source report said the chain operates more than 20 supermarkets in Russia.